The Washington Capitals announced Tuesday afternoon that they are activating defenseman Nick Jensen from the injured reserve. To make room for Jensen on the active roster they have re-assigned forward Brett Leason to their taxi squad.
Jensen has missed the Caps past four games after suffering an upper-body injury against the Boston Bruins on January 20. He was put on injured reserve four days later.
The Caps play the Pittsburgh Penguins on the road tonight at 7 PM.
ROSTER UPDATE: #Caps re-assign forward Brett Leason to the taxi squad and activate defenseman Nick Jensen
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) February 1, 2022
Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette told the media in Pittsburgh that Jensen would be a gametime decision on Tuesday. That could still be the case even with this activation as the Caps are still carrying seven other defensemen on their active roster.
In 39 games this season, Jensen has 11 points and has skated an average of 19:20 of ice time per game. His primary role has been as a shutdown defender on a pairing with Dmitry Orlov. Jensen only starts his five-on-five shifts in the offensive zone 36.8-percent of the time and in those shifts, the Capitals see 52-percent of the shot attempts, 50.9-percent of the expected goals, and almost a dead-even split in scoring chances.
Leason was a healthy scratch when the Caps beat the Stars 5-0 last Friday. He has six points in 32 games in his rookie NHL season.
The entire NHL temporary taxi squad system will end for the Capitals after their game against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday is complete.
Headline photo: Elizabeth Kong/RMNB
